Of First Dates and Milk Duds
by Bardess of Avon
Summary: Oneshot, dedicated to my lovely fanfiction twin, Vee! "A Jet wasn't afraid of anything. That being said, Baby John was terrified." Baby John goes on his first date.


A/N: As of 10/24/10, I have reworked much of this oneshot to better adjust it to **LCV Productions** fanon. It was written at the strong encouragement of my one and only fanfiction twin, **viennacantabile**, who is more awesome than words can describe. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Anything you don't recognize is the property of **LCV Productions**.

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Jets, as a rule, never got nervous. They were the top cats in town, the swingin'est things. They were the gold-medal kids with the heavy-weight crowns. A Jet wasn't afraid of anything.

That being said, Baby John was terrified. He was going on his first date ever; he was taking Minnie to see that new Jimmy Stewart movie, _Vertigo_; it was an Alfred Hitchcock picture, and according to A-Rab, those movies were scary and therefore the best kind to take a girl to. And speaking of whom, A-Rab was accompanying the two to the movie; because Minnie's dad was a cop and very protective of his little girl, Baby John was only allowed to take her out if they brought a chaperone (A-Rab hardly counted). To make them feel better, A-Rab was bringing his on-again, off-again squeeze, Susan Cooper.

"Don't worry about it; it'll be _fine_," A-Rab assured him as they headed over to Minnie's apartment, where they would pick up the girls. "You an' Minnie can't stop starin' at each other. If the movie gets boring, just do that. An' if it's scary, you can hold her hand or put yer arm around her. That's the _perfect_ way ta start makin' out with her!"

Baby John swallowed. He had never kissed a girl before and wasn't sure if he would be very good at it. "Um, well…"

A-Rab laughed his high-pitched, hyena-like laugh. "Aw, don't worry about it, Baby John. Look, we're here."

Mr. Goddard did not smile when he answered the door. Instead, he pointed to the living room wordlessly. The two boys shuffled past him. A-Rab had antagonized Officer Goddard on more than one occasion and was slightly abashed to be in his home. Officer Goddard pointed silently to the couch and the two boys sank down on it, their palms starting to sweat a little.

"So." Officer Goddard sat down on his armchair, his eyes beady. "You're here to pick up the girls."

"Yessir," they muttered.

Goddard didn't move a muscle. "You know, Minnie don't date very often."

"Oh, uh, yes, I know," Baby John stammered.

"And she's my baby girl. You understand that, don't you, son?"

Nod.

Goddard cleared his throat. "If I had a nice car that I was gonna let you borrow, son, you wouldn't crash it, would you?"

Baby John wasn't sure what he was getting at but shook his head fervently. "Of course not, sir."

"And you wouldn't let anything happen to it? No dents or dings? You wouldn't fiddle around with the radio and show off with it to impress your friends and then abandon it in a junkyard to fend for itself when you get tired of it, would you?" Goddard barked.

Baby John shifted, uneasy. "No sir, never."

Goddard nodded. "Right. Because you respect me, don't you, son?"

Another fervent nod. "Oh, yessir."

Goddard nodded again. "Good. And you're gonna treat my daughter the same way you treat a nice car, right, son?"

Baby John had to fight not to let his mouth fall open. "Well, I'll treat her better, sir. I mean, I like her more than any old car." He wasn't sure if this was the right thing to say or not, but he was saved by the appearance of a woman, who was preceded by the swishing of her dress.

"Oh, hello there! George, are you bothering these nice boys?" the woman asked, sighing. "I'll go tell the girls that you're here." And she swished away, her heels clicking softly on the carpeted floor.

"That was my wife," George Goddard said unnecessarily. "Minnie's mother."

Baby John had a feeling this was another tactic to frighten him. He swallowed and tried not to let his fear show. A moment later, the sound of swishing skirts and clacking heels met their ears, and the men rose as the three women entered the room.

Minnie was looking lovely; she was wearing a dress of deep indigo with a skirt that puffed out ever so slightly from the crinolines her parents still made her wear. She was beaming, her cheeks turning pink. "Hi, Baby John! Hi, A-Rab!"

"Hi, Minnie," Baby John returned, grinning like an idiot. "You look great."

Minnie flushed. "Thanks!"

Susan, who had decided on a green dress that left very, very little to the imagination, slunk towards A-Rab and slid an arm around him. "Hiya, A-Rab baby."

Officer Goddard gave her a stony look. Apparently, he did not approve of his daughter's choice in friends. A-Rab took notice of this and was careful to keep his arm around her as non-suggestively as possible.

"I'll have her back by ten, sir," Baby John promised as Minnie moved to stand beside him.

"See that you do," Goddard said, not even blinking.

Baby John gulped.

"Oh, Daddy," Minnie laughed. She pecked him on the cheek and then pecked her mother's cheek.

"Have fun, dear," Mrs. Goddard said as the four teenagers made their way to the door.

"Yer old man is, uh," A-Rab fought to find the right words as they left the tenement, his arm now very intimately around Susan.

"Daddy's very protective," Minnie filled in for him, slipping her hand into the crook of Baby John's elbow. His whole arm tingled from the contact.

Baby John was glad when Minnie said she didn't want any popcorn; he had heard Clarice and Bernice once complaining about how when boys ate popcorn, their hands became gross and slimy. Instead, he bought two Cokes. A-Rab and Susan didn't get anything, and Baby John had a feeling he knew why.

There were not many people in the theatre; the film had been showing for awhile now. The foursome took their seats in the middle of the theater, ignoring the couples dotted here and there. The opening was pretty good, and Baby John was pretty well hooked. Minnie seemed equally entranced; she stared at the screen, wide-eyed.

The movie must not have appealed very much to A-Rab and Susan, because both of them promptly started making out. Baby John pretended not to notice, even when muffled moans issued from the couple and sometimes Susan would kick Minnie on accident. He forced himself to keep his eyes on the screen, and he had a feeling Minnie was doing likewise.

About halfway through the movie, Minnie jumped and grabbed hold of Baby John's hand. She smiled shyly at him but made no move to take her hand away, and Baby John rather liked her smaller, softer hand entwined with his own. He was just starting to enjoy the feel of it when A-Rab grunted, and it was not from his activities with Susan.

"What is it?" the redhead asked breathlessly.

"Some idiot chucked a Milk Dud at me!" A-Rab hissed, turning around and glaring. The other three also turned around, looking for the culprit. They found her sitting a few rows above them, her legs crossed at the ankle and propped up on the seat in front of her. "Anybodys," A-Rab growled.

"Oh, I'm sure she didn't mean it," Minnie said in a reassuring voice. "It was probably an accident."

"It better have been, for _her_ sake," A-Rab muttered.

Somehow, when another Milk Dud bounced off the back of A-Rab's head, Baby John had the feeling that it was _not_ an accident. A-Rab whipped around, catching Anybodys in the act of aiming another one. She smirked. "Well, hello, A-Rab, Minnie, Baby John. Scarlet Harlot. Fancy meetin' you here."

"Hi, Anybodys!" Minnie called up in a bright voice.

"Are you enjoying the movie?" Anybodys asked in a voice that could have passed for polite.

"Aw, don't play innocent!" A-Rab snapped.

"Whatever do you mean?" Anybodys asked, trying (and failing) to wear an expression of concerned puzzlement.

"Stop throwin' Milk Duds at me!" A-Rab hissed, for a nearby couple had thrown them glares.

Anybodys hid the box behind her. "I don't know what yer talkin' about."

"Just let it go," Susan muttered. A-Rab glared at Anybodys one more time before turning back around and promptly attaching his lips to his orange-headed date again.

Not five minutes had passed before a sound like a plunger unstopping a toilet arose and A-Rab swore as he pulled back from Susan. Anybodys was watching the screen intently—perhaps a little _too_ intently. This incident was repeated three more times before A-Rab finally gave up and ignored Anybodys. Baby John had to admire him for doing this; Anybodys's Milk Duds attack was distracting him, and he wasn't even the target.

Roughly fifteen minutes, if not more, passed, and still Anybodys kept up her barrage of Milk Duds. Finally, she must have run out of ammunition, because the attacks stopped. Baby John could focus on the movie now, and on holding hands with Minnie. He was starting to sweat a little, but she seemed not to have noticed; she smiled at him whenever their eyes caught and even leaned against him during one of the more romantic moments in the film. But Baby John knew it was only too good to last.

He felt a poke in the back of his head and knew who it was. "Hi, Anybodys."

"So, you two finally on a date or somethin'?" the tomboy asked bluntly.

Minnie smiled as she turned around. "Yes. Are you here with anyone?"

Anybodys shook her head. "Nah; had nuthin' better ta do." She pulled out a straw and blew the wrapper at A-Rab's head. He smacked it out of his hair before returning to Susan. "That's disgusting," Anybodys decided, jamming her straw into her drink.

"Yeah, well, don't look at 'em," Baby John suggested, even though he privately agreed with her.

Anybodys rolled her eyes. "They're ruinin' my view! It's hard ta enjoy a movie when ya got idiots like them swappin' spit all over the place."

The plunger noise came again as A-Rab unglued himself from Susan and glared at Anybodys. "You wanna keep it down?"

"How 'bout _you_ keepin' _it _down, daddy-o?" Anybodys asked in a scathing voice. "I can hear ya from all the way up at the top."

"Betcha were jealous, too," A-Rab said, smirking.

"Oh, no," Baby John muttered. "Here we go." He knew A-Rab and Anybodys only too well, and they could go at this for hours if nobody stopped them.

Anybodys rolled her eyes. "Yeah, because it's my life's ambition ta get groped in the middle of an Alfred Hitchcock movie. Ya sound like apes, y'know."

Personally, Baby John agreed, but he decided not to say this out loud. Instead, he and Minnie watched in interest as Susan started to lose her temper.

"Look, kiddo," the older girl said condescendingly, "just because you ain't never been kissed ain't no reason ta take out yer petty jealousy on _us_. Go back ta yer seat." And she promptly reattached herself to A-Rab.

Baby John winced; he was sure he knew what would come next. Anybodys would probably start shouting or punching something or someone, and it would be loud and painful and Baby John would not want to be there when it happened. He gripped Minnie's hand a little tighter than necessary in anticipation.

Therefore, he was quite surprised when Anybodys said, "Y'know, I think maybe I will." And she stood up, holding her soda. For a fleeting moment, Baby John thought she would just go back to her seat and leave them all alone. And then he saw that she had pulled the lid off of her drink.

It all happened so quickly that Baby John did not even have time to shout out a warning; one minute, Anybodys was standing over the making out couple, drink in hand, and the next, she was holding an empty cup and Susan was covered in Coke, ice cubes clinging to her.

The ginger gasped. "You little…!" She let out something between a shriek and a growl as she got to her feet, smacking the ice off of her.

"Oops, did I do that?" Anybodys asked in an innocent voice that fooled nobody. She smirked before darting back up to her seat a few rows up, snorting with laughter.

"That little—_what are you laughing at_?" Susan hissed.

A-Rab fought to keep the smile off of his face. "Aw, baby, I'm sorry."

Susan scoffed. "Sorry my foot! You two can laugh together now!" And she stormed down the aisle.

"Aw, Susan, come back!" A-Rab called, rising out of his chair, but she was not coming back. He looked mad now. He glanced up at Anybodys, who had a straw in her mouth and was twitching it, and climbed over the seats behind him.

"A-Rab, don't hurt her!" Minnie cried fretfully.

"I ain't gonna hurt her, although I oughta," A-Rab said in a grim voice. Within a few moments, he was sitting beside Anybodys, both of them bickering in low voices.

"She was just playing," Minnie said in a quiet voice. "I mean, surely he realizes that? Oh, I hope they don't start fighting."

"Me too," Baby John agreed, thinking that everyone in the theater would get up and leave if those two started to _really_ fight. He sighed; this was _not_ how he was hoping his date would turn out. On the bright side, though, he and Minnie were finally alone. They were able to watch the rest of the movie in peace, and Minnie rested her head against Baby John's shoulder. He even felt bold enough to try the Yawn; he not-very-subtly stretched his arms as he yawned and let one drape over her shoulders. She only snuggled further into the crook of his arm, so he took this as a good sign.

When the movie ended and everyone who had actually been watching it got up and exclaimed what a good movie it was, and remember that one part, and they were _not_ expecting that, Baby John and Minnie split to use the bathroom. A-Rab was at the urinal beside Baby John, and he grinned at him. "_So_…I think that went well."

Baby John's cheeks pinked. "Um, yeah, I think so. I'm sorry about Susan, though."

A-Rab waved an airy hand as he zipped up his pants. "Aw, I don't really care. I only brought her fer one thing, an' I can get that other places."

As they made their way to the sinks, Baby John said, "So…you and Anybodys. I guess you guys were fightin' for awhile; you stayed up there the rest-a the movie."

A-Rab shrugged. "Nah, not really. We snapped at each other fer awhile an' then we pinched each other fer a few minutes, and then I called her a nut an' she told me to shut up, so I did, and we watched the rest of the movie. Only I don't get that whole thing with Kim Novak; why'd she dye her hair? And then why were they acting like they'd never met before?"

Baby John took great pleasure in smirking at A-Rab's ignorance. "You'd know if you'd watched the whole movie."

A-Rab made a face as they left. Minnie emerged a few moments later, smiling shyly at Baby John. Her hand slipped into his and they started out the door.

"I'm sorry about Susan, A-Rab," Minnie said sincerely.

A-Rab shrugged. "Ah, it's okay."

"Did you and Anybodys make up?" she asked, sounding concerned.

A-Rab smirked. "Yeah, I guess you could say that. 'S'matter-a fact, I'm walkin' her home."

Baby John froze. "You are?" Well, _that_ was unexpected.

A-Rab's smirk widened. "Well, ya didn't think I was gonna let a poor, innocent young lady walk home all by her lonesome, eh?"

Baby John did not think that Anybodys was anything close to a poor, innocent young lady; he doubted very much if anyone meaning her harm would walk away uninjured. But still, he knew A-Rab was being nice and letting Baby John and Minnie have some privacy, so Baby John decided not to challenge this statement.

A-Rab paused and grinned. "There she is. I'll catch you kids later, huh?"

"Uh, sure," Baby John said, shrugging.

"You all be good children, now," A-Rab called in a sing-song voice before cackling and jogging towards Anybodys, who was standing by the streetlight, arms crossed and hip jutted out. She rolled her eyes but smiled as he came near—_and put his arm around her shoulders_. What was even more surprising was the fact that Anybodys did not resist. Baby John and Minnie gaped as the two set off down the street, each looking supremely unconcerned with the rest of the world.

Minnie laughed. "Ooh, I've been waiting for this for _ages_!"

"You _have_?" Baby John asked, surprised.

Minnie laughed again. "Well, sure! Why else do you think she was throwing candy at him the whole movie?"

Baby John fought to think of a plausible reason for this. "Uh…because they hate each other's guts?"

Minnie laughed again. "She was jealous!"

"Well, that was kind of a dumb thing to do about it," Baby John muttered.

Minnie swung their joined hands lightly. "Well, we girls can be kind of silly when it comes to boys."

"Boys are silly when it comes ta girls, too," Baby John said, the words coming out of his mouth before he could stop himself. He turned beet-red, but Minnie giggled and moved to wrap her arm around his waist. He let his arm settle around her shoulders, marveling at the way she fit so perfectly against him.

It wasn't terribly late by the time they got back to Minnie's apartment—only nine-thirty—but he had promised to have Minnie home by ten, and he wanted to prove to Officer Goddard that he was a responsible young man who could be trusted to date his daughter.

"I had a really swell time tonight, Baby John," Minnie said as they came to a halt.

This was the part A-Rab had told him about. The girl always said, "I had a great time tonight," and then the boy was supposed to kiss her. Baby John licked his lips. "Yeah, I did too."

"We should do it again," Minnie suggested. Baby John's heart leapt; this meant that she wanted to go on another date with him.

He grinned. "Yeah, we should." He swallowed. "Is it okay if I kiss you now?"

Minnie bit her lip, cheeks flaming. "Oh, yes."

Baby John leaned forward, heart thudding loudly in his ears, and closed his eyes just before his lips tentatively touched hers. He couldn't help noticing that her lips tasted sweet, almost like strawberries, and they were soft and warm, just like her freshly-baked sugar cookies when they had just come out of the oven. He wasn't quite sure how long it lasted, but it was long enough to make him completely breathless by the time Minnie finally pulled away. They both grinned at each other and held hands until they heard a window open and a voice call down, "Minnie! Your curfew's almost up!"

Minnie sighed. "Well, I guess I'd better go."

"Yeah," Baby John also sighed, reluctant to part with her.

Minnie smiled at him. "Will you call me tomorrow?"

"Yes," Baby John said instantly.

Minnie beamed at him. "Goodnight, Baby John." She leaned forward, planted a soft kiss on his cheek, and disappeared into her brownstone.

Baby John glanced up at a very disgruntled Officer Goddard, who was glaring down at him. "There better not be any hanky-panky between you and my little girl! I KNOW WHERE YA LIVE, JOHNNY-BOY!"

Baby John gulped and was grateful when Mrs. Goddard called from inside, "George! Get inside and stop embarrassing yourself! Honestly, what will the neighbors think?"

Baby John smiled to himself and slowly made his way home, his ears ringing with the sound of Minnie's laugh and his lips tingling from the taste of her strawberry, cookie-soft lips.


End file.
